(Josh complained that he was paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

plaudits

(n.) enthusiastic approval, applause

(The controversial new film received plaudits from even the harshest critics.)

pliable

(adj.) flexible

(Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat pliable so they do not break in heavy turbulence.)

portent

(n.) an omen

(When a black cat crossed my sister’s path while she was walking to school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

privation

(n.) lacking basic necessities

(After decades of rule by an oppressive government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent drought only increased the people’s privation.)

probity

(n.) virtue, integrity

(Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson’s immoral behavior.)

procure

(v.) to obtain, acquire

(The FBI was unable to procure sufficient evidence to charge the gangster with racketeering.)

propensity

(n.) an inclination, preference

(Dermit has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

propitious

(adj.) favorable

(The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

quandary

(n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state

(Carlos found himself in a quandary: should he choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)

rail

(v.) to scold, protest

(The professor railed against the injustice of the college’s tenure policy.)

rash

(adj.) hasty, incautious

(It’s best to think things over calmly and thoroughly, rather than make rash decisions.)

recalcitrant

(adj.) defiant, unapologetic

(Even when scolded, the recalcitrant young girl simply stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima beans.)

renovate

1. (v.) restore, return to original state

(The renovated antique candelabra looked as good as new.)

2. (v.) to enlarge and make prettier, especially a house

(After getting renovated, the house was twice as big and much more attractive.)

renunciation

(n.) to reject

(Fiona’s renunciation of red meat resulted in weight loss, but confused those people who thought she’d been a vegetarian for years.)

repentant

(adj.) penitent, sorry

(The repentant Dennis apologized profusely for breaking his mother’s vase.)

replete

(adj.) full, abundant

(The unedited version was replete with naughty words.)

reprieve

(n.) a temporary delay of punishment

(Because the governor woke up in a particularly good mood, he granted hundreds of reprieves to prisoners.)

reproach

(v.) to scold, disapprove

(Brian reproached the customer for failing to rewind the video he had rented.)

reprobate

(adj.) evil, unprincipled

(The reprobate criminal sat sneering in the cell.)

reprove

(v.) to scold, rebuke

(Lara reproved her son for sticking each and every one of his fingers into the strawberry pie.)

repulse

1. (v.) to disgust

(Antisocial Annie tried to repulse people by neglecting to brush her teeth.)

2. (v.) to push back

(With a deft movement of her wrist and a punch to the stomach, Lacy repulsed Jack’s attempt to kiss her.)

requisition

(n.) a demand for goods, usually made by an authority

(During the war, the government made a requisition of supplies.)

rife

(adj.) abundant

(Surprisingly, the famous novelist’s writing was rife with spelling errors.)

ruminate

(v.) to contemplate, reflect

(Terry liked to ruminate while sitting on the banks of the river, staring pensively into the water.)

ruse

(n.) a trick

(Oliver concocted an elaborate ruse for sneaking out of the house to meet his girlfriend while simultaneously giving his mother the impression that he was asleep in bed.)

sagacity

(n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective

(With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children’s plan to ship him off to a nursing home.)

salient

(adj.) significant, conspicuous

(One of the salient differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

salve

(n.) a soothing balm

(After Tony applied a salve to his brilliant red sunburn, he soon felt a little better.)

sanguine

(adj.) optimistic, cheery

(Polly reacted to any bad news with a sanguine smile and the chirpy cry, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!”)

subjugate

(v.) to bring under control, subdue

(The invading force captured and subjugated the natives of that place.)

surrogate

(n.) one acting in place of another

(The surrogate carried the child to term for its biological parents.)

swarthy

(adj.) of dark color or complexion

(When he got drunk, Robinson’s white skin became rather swarthy.)

tenuous

(adj.) having little substance or strength

(Your argument is very tenuous, since it relies so much on speculation and hearsay.)

toady

(n.) one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors

(The other kids referred to the teacher’s pet as the Tenth Grade Toady.)

torrid

(adj.) giving off intense heat, passionate

(I didn’t want to witness the neighbor’s torrid affair through the window.)

tortuous

(adj.) winding

(The scary thing about driving in mountains are the narrow, tortuous roads.)

transgress

(v.) to violate, go over a limit

(The criminal’s actions transgressed morality and human decency.)

undulate

(v.) to move in waves

(As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate to an increasing degree.)

upbraid

(v.) to criticize or scold severely

(The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to upbraid her again about missing the rent payment.)

utilitarian

(adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness

(The beautiful, fragile vase couldn’t hold flowers or serve any other utilitarian purpose.)

vapid

(adj.) lacking liveliness, dull

(The professor’s comments about the poem were surprisingly vapid and dull.)

viscous

(adj.) not free flowing, syrupy

(The viscous syrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle.)

vituperate

(v.) to berate

(Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he would be vituperated for his unseemly behavior.)

vivacious

(adj.) lively, sprightly

(The vivacious clown makes all of the children laugh and giggle with his friendly antics.)

wallow

(v.) to roll oneself indolently; to become or remain helpless

(My roommate can’t get over her breakup with her boyfriend and now just wallows in self-pity.)

wane

(v.) to decrease in size, dwindle

(Don’t be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

wistful

(adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad

(Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and sat around wistful all day long.)

wizened

(adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled

(Agatha’s grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizened countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

abide

1. (v.) to put up with

(Though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by it.)

2. (v.) to remain

(Despite the beating they’ve taken from the weather throughout the millennia, the mountains abide.)

abject

(adj.) wretched, pitiful

(After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject.)

abjure

(v.) to reject, renounce

(To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)

abrogate

(v.) to abolish, usually by authority

(The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)

absolution

(n.) freedom from blame, guilt, sin

(Once all the facts were known, the jury gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.)

adumbrate

(v.) to sketch out in a vague way

(The coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

affront

(n.) an insult

(Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his honor.)

amenable

(adj.) willing, compliant

(Our father was amenable when we asked him to drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking.)

amenity

(n.) an item that increases comfort

(Bill Gates’s house is stocked with so many amenities, he never has to do anything for himself.)

analgesic

(n.) something that reduces pain

(Put this analgesic on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.)

anathema

(n.) a cursed, detested person

(I never want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to me.)

apocryphal

(adj.) fictitious, false, wrong

(Because I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal.)

appalling

(adj.) inspiring shock, horror, disgust

(The judge found the murderer’s crimes and lack of remorse appalling.)

atone

(v.) to repent, make amends

(The man atoned for forgetting his wife’s birthday by buying her five dozen roses.)

atrophy

(v.) to wither away, decay

(If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy and die.)

bilk

(v.) cheat, defraud

(The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.)

blandish

(v.) to coax by using flattery

(Rachel’s assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.)

buffet

1. (v.) to strike with force

(The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.)

2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table

(Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

caucus

(n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal

(The ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.)

cavort

(v.) to leap about, behave boisterously

(The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children cavorted around the pool.)

chide

(v.) to voice disapproval

(Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)

coerce

(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat

(The court decided that Vanilla Ice did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)

cogent

(adj.) intellectually convincing

(Irene’s arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent that I could not resist them.)

collateral

1. (adj.) secondary

(Divorcing my wife had the collateral effect of making me poor, as she was the only one of us with a job or money.)

2. (n.) security for a debt

(Jacob left his watch as collateral for the $500 loan.)

collusion

(n.) secret agreement, conspiracy

(The three law students worked in collusion to steal the final exam.)

commensurate

(adj.) corresponding in size or amount

(Ahab selected a very long roll and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich commensurate with his enormous appetite.)

concoct

(v.) to fabricate, make up

(She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her absence.)

concomitant

(adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion

(His dislike of hard work carried with it a concomitant lack of funds.)

condolence

(n.) an expression of sympathy in sorrow

(Brian lamely offered his condolences on the loss of his sister’s roommate’s cat.)

condone

(v.) to pardon, deliberately overlook

(He refused to condone his brother’s crime.)

conduit

(n.) a pipe or channel through which something passes

(The water flowed through the conduit into the container.)

confection

(n.) a sweet, fancy food

(We went to the mall food court and purchased a delicious confection.)

confluence

(n.) a gathering together

(A confluence of different factors made tonight the perfect night.)

conundrum

(n.) puzzle, problem

(Interpreting Jane’s behavior was a constant conundrum.)

convene

(v.) to call together

(Jason convened his entire extended family for a discussion.)

convivial

(adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment

(The restaurant’s convivial atmosphere put me immediately at ease.)

convoluted

(adj.) intricate, complicated

(Grace’s story was so convoluted that I couldn’t follow it.)

copious

(adj.) profuse, abundant

(Copious amounts of Snapple were imbibed in the cafeteria.)

cordial

(adj.) warm, affectionate

(His cordial greeting melted my anger at once.)

coronation

(n.) the act of crowning

(The new king’s coronation occurred the day after his father’s death.)

corpulence

(adj.) extreme fatness

(Henry’s corpulence did not make him any less attractive to his charming, svelte wife.)

debauch

(v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures

(An endless amount of good wine and cheese debauched the traveler.)

deface

(v.) to ruin or injure something’s appearance

(The brothers used eggs and shaving cream to deface their neighbor’s mailbox.)

defer

(v.) to postpone something; to yield to another’s wisdom

(Ron deferred to Diane, the expert on musical instruments, when he was asked about buying a piano.)

deferential

(adj.) showing respect for another’s authority

(His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

defile

(v.) to make unclean, impure

(She defiled the calm of the religious building by playing her banjo.)

defunct

(adj.) no longer used or existing

(They planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse into a community center.)

delegate

(v.) to hand over responsibility for something

(The dean delegated the task of finding a new professor to a special hiring committee.)

delineate

(v.) to describe, outline, shed light on

(She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling the project’s funding.)

despondent

(adj.) feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless

(Having failed the first math test, the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and failed that one too.)

despot

(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally

(The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

destitute

(adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking

(The hurricane destroyed many homes and left many families destitute.)

deter

(v.) to discourage, prevent from doing

(Bob’s description of scary snakes couldn’t deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.)

devious

(adj.) not straightforward, deceitful

(Not wanting to be punished, the devious girl blamed the broken vase on the cat.)

diffident

(adj.) shy, quiet, modest

(While eating dinner with the adults, the diffident youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

dispatch

(v.) to send off to accomplish a duty

(The carpenter dispatched his assistant to fetch wood.)

disrepute

(n.) a state of being held in low regard

(The officer fell into disrepute after it was learned that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to his own soldiers.)

dissemble

(v.) to conceal, fake

(Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she dissembled and hid her intention to sell her ailing father’s stamp collection.)

dissipate

1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear

(The sun finally came out and dissipated the haze.)

2. (v.) to waste

(She dissipated her fortune on a series of bad investments.)

dissonance

(n.) lack of harmony or consistency

(Though the president of the company often spoke of the company as reliant solely upon its workers, her decision to increase her own salary rather than reward her employees revealed a striking dissonance between her alleged beliefs and her actions.)

dissuade

(v.) to persuade someone not to do something

(Worried that he would catch a cold, she tried to dissuade him from going out on winter nights.)

distend

(v.) to swell out

(Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to distend.)

dither

(v.) to be indecisive

(Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

efface

(v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away

(The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

efficacious

(adj.) effective

(My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I’m still sniffling.)

effrontery

(n.) impudence, nerve, insolence

(When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

effulgent

(adj.) radiant, splendorous

(The golden palace was effulgent.)

eloquent

(adj.) expressive, articulate, moving

(The priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most churchgoers were crying.)

emaciated

(adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking

(My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

ennui

(n.) boredom, weariness

(I feel such ennui that I don’t look forward to anything, not even my birthday party.)

entail

(v.) to include as a necessary step

(Building a new fence entails tearing down the old one.)

enthrall

(v.) to charm, hold spellbound

(The sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

epistolary

(adj.) relating to or contained in letters

(Some people call me “Auntie’s boy,” because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each other every day.)

epitome

(n.) a perfect example, embodiment

(My mother, the epitome of good taste, always dresses more elegantly than I do.)

ethereal

(adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined

(In her flowing silk gown and lace veil, the bride looked ethereal.)

extant

(adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost

(My mother’s extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

extricate

(v.) to disentangle

(Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day.)

exult

(v.) to rejoice

(When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary exulted by dancing and singing through the school’s halls.)

forage

(v.) to graze, rummage for food

(When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

forbearance

(n.) patience, restraint, toleration

(The doctor showed great forbearance in calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

forestall

(v.) to prevent, thwart, delay

(I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

forsake

(v.) to give up, renounce

(My New Year’s resolution is to forsake smoking and drinking.)

fortitude

(n.) strength, guts

(Achilles’ fortitude in battle is legendary.)

fortuitous

(adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate

(After looking for Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitous encounter with him at the post office.)

fractious

(adj.) troublesome or irritable

(Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractious behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

fraught

(adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or accompanied with

(Her glances in his direction were fraught with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)

frivolous

(adj.) of little importance, trifling

(Someday, all that anxiety about whether your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally frivolous.)

hallowed

(adj.) revered, consecrated

(In the hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)

harrowing

(adj.) greatly distressing, vexing

(The car crash was a harrowing experience, but I have a feeling that the increase in my insurance premiums will be even more upsetting.)

hegemony

(n.) domination over others

(Britain’s hegemony over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)

heinous

(adj.) shockingly wicked, repugnant

(The killings were made all the more heinous by the fact that the murderer first tortured his victims for three days.)

impertinent

(adj.) rude, insolent

(Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)

impervious

(adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected

(Because of their thick layer of fur, many seals are almost impervious to the cold.)

impetuous

(adj.) rash; hastily done

(Hilda’s hasty slaying of the king was an impetuous, thoughtless action.)

impinge

1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression

(The hail impinged the roof, leaving large dents.)

2. (v.) to encroach, infringe

(I apologize for impinging upon you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.)

implement

1. (n.) an instrument, utensil, tool

(Do you have a knife or some other sort of implement that I could use to pry the lid off of this jar?)

2. (v.) to put into effect, to institute

(After the first town curfew failed to stop the graffiti problem, the mayor implemented a new policy to use security cameras to catch perpetrators in the act.)

implicate

(v.) to involve in an incriminating way, incriminate

(Even though Tom wasn’t present at the time of the shooting, he was implicated by the evidence suggesting that he had supplied the shooters with guns.)

impregnable

(adj.) resistant to capture or penetration

(Though the invaders used battering rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress proved impregnable and resisted all attacks.)

impute

(v.) to ascribe, blame

(The CEO imputed the many typos in the letter to his lazy secretary.)

inane

(adj.) silly and meaningless

(Some films are so inane that the psychology of the characters makes absolutely no sense.)

ineffable

(adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words

(It is said that the experience of playing with a dolphin is ineffable and can only be understood through direct encounter.)

inexorable

(adj.) incapable of being persuaded or placated

(Although I begged for hours, Mom was inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom.)

inextricable

(adj.) hopelessly tangled or entangled

(Unless I look at the solution manual, I have no way of solving this inextricable problem.)

inimical

(adj.) hostile, enemylike

(I don’t see how I could ever work for a company that was so cold and inimical to me during my interviews.)

iniquity

(n.) wickedness or sin

(“Your iniquity,” said the priest to the practical jokester, “will be forgiven.”)

insurgent

(n.) one who rebels

(The insurgent snuck into and defaced a different classroom each night until the administration agreed to meet his demands.)

integral

(adj.) necessary for completeness

(Without the integral ingredient of flour, you wouldn’t be able to make bread.)

intimation

(n.) an indirect suggestion

(Mr. Brinford’s intimation that he would soon pass away occurred when he began to discuss how to distribute his belongings among his children.)

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion

(The intransigent child said he would have 12 scoops of ice cream, or he would bang his head against the wall until his mother fainted from fear.)

intrepid

(adj.) brave in the face of danger

(After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)

inure

(v.) to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation

(Twenty years in the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime.)

invective

(n.) an angry verbal attack

(My mother’s irrational invective against the way I dress only made me decide to dye my hair green.)

inveterate

(adj.) stubbornly established by habit

(I’m the first to admit that I’m an inveterate coffee drinker—I drink four cups a day.)